Even as early as the year 1900, different researchers had reported the. finding of the organic phosphate compound phytic acid, i.e. 1.2.3.4.5.6-myo-inositol-hexakis (dihydrogenphosphate) (also sometimes called inositol-hexaphosphoric acid) in plants. The content of phytic acid in different plants varies considerably. The content in grain is usually approximately 0.5-2%, with certain exceptions. Polished rice has a level of only 0.1% while wild rice contains as much as 2.2% phytic acid. Beans contain about 0.4-2%, oil plants approximately 2-5% and pollen 0.3-2%. The content of phytic acid in the plant varies during the growth period. The content is also influenced by, among other things, the climate.
In the literature there are reports on the presence of inositol pentaphosphate (IP.sub.5) and inositol tetraphosphate (IP.sub.4) in a few plants. It is further known that phosphate derivatives lower than IP.sub.6 are formed at germination of grain. For instance the final products at the germination are inositol and phosphate. The use of IP.sub.6 has been described in several scientific publications. The majority of the authors of these articles have observed several negative effects on humans and animals when consuming IP.sub.6 or substances containing IP.sub.6. Feeding dogs with too high an amount of IP.sub.6 gives rise for example to rachitis. In humans lack of zinc and as a consequence thereof slower growth of children has been observed. Because of the above mentioned negative effects on the mineral balance in humans and animals, attempts have so far been made to reduce the intake of IP.sub.6 and its derivatives to a minimum.
From C.A. Vol. 33 (1939), Abstr. No. 7351, No. 3/4 the use of phosphates including inositol phosphates as an anti-rachitic diet has been reported. No reference is made to specific inositol phosphates.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,563 discloses the extra corporal treatment of erythrocytes to incorporate therein inositol phosphates to improve the oxygen supply. Then erythrocytes are separated from drawn blood which has been pumped out of the body for that purpose. After complicated treatment of ervthrocytes the latter are re-introduced into the blood. There is no disclosure of administering inositol phosphates directly to the body.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,723,938 the use of inositol phosphates is disclosed for stabilizing dispersions of an aqueous suspension of penicillin. This ensures that brief simple manual shaking will restore a state of complete and uniform dispersion of the penicillin after prolonged storage.
Cadmium has been found to be detrimental to human health and results from a large number of animal experiments obtained over many years show negative effects even at very low levels of cadmium. This would mean that a large proportion of the population is negatively affected, and this is above all valid for smokers. Epidemiological research shows a connection between the presence of cancer, high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases (for instance, arteriosclerosis, heart infarction, sudden cardiac death) and the occurence of cadmium in the environment. Exposure to cadmium also seems to be a factor in increasing the risk of age diabetes.
In spite of very intensive research effort for many years seeking to prevent the above mentioned negative effects of cadmium and/or to prevent or alleviate the above mentioned problems created by cadmium, which in many cases involve very serious diseases, no good remedy without side effects has till now been found. Aluminum has recently been recognized as a health hazard. In dialysis patients, aluminum causes dementia and osteomalacia. It is suspected that aluminum may cause many abnormalities, such as Alzheimers disease in humans. There are also investigations showing that aluminum can cause several diseases in animals. Aluminum can also increase lipid peroxidation in biological membranes, probably by destabilizing membrane structure. As for cadmium, no good remedy for Al-related diseases, without side effects has till now been found. Free-radicals have been suggested to be involved in the pathology of a number of diseases, such as autoimmune diseases and inflammatory diseases.